Distinguish:
Discussion Questions:
1. Discuss the differences between internal and external users of information and their needs and demands on an information system. Historically, which type of user has the firm catered to most?
2. Comment on the level of detail necessary for operations management, middle management, and stockholders.
3. Distinguish between financial and nonfinancial transactions. Give three examples of each.
4. Why have reengineering efforts been made to integrate AIS and MIS?
5. Do you think transaction processing systems differ significantly between service and manufacturing industries? Are they equally important to both sectors?
6. Discuss the difference between the financial reporting system and general ledger system.
7. Examine Figure 1-5 and discuss where and how problems can arise that can cause the resulting information to be bad or ineffective.
8. Discuss how the elements of efficiency, effectiveness, and flexibility are crucial to the design of an information system.
9. Discuss what is meant by the statement, “The accounting system is a conceptual flow of information that represents the physical flows of personnel, raw materials, machinery, and cash through the organization.”
10. Discuss the importance of accounting independence in accounting information systems. Give an example of where this concept is important (use an example other than inventory control).
11. Discuss why it is crucial that internal auditors report solely to the uppermost level of management (either to the chief executive officer or the audit committee of the board of directors) and answer to no other group.
12. Contrast centralized data processing with distributed data processing. How do the roles of systems professionals and end users change? What do you think the trend is today?
13. Discuss how conceptual and physical systems differ and which functions are responsible for each of these systems.
14. If accountants are viewed as providers of information, then why are they consulted as system users in the systems development process?
15. Distinguish between responsibility, authority, and accountability.
16. Which flow upward and which flow downward?
17. Distinguish between turnkey, backbone, and vendor-supported systems.
18. List each of the functional areas and their subfunctions.
19. What are the roles of internal and external auditors?
20. What is the role of a database administrator?
21. Name the three most common ways to segment an organization.
22. What is the role of the accounting function in an organization?
23. Distinguish between the centralized and distributed approaches to organizing the IT function.
24. What is the role of the data control group?
25. What is distributed data processing?
26. What are the advantages and disadvantages of distributed data processing?
27. What types of tasks become redundant in a distributed data processing system?
28. What is a flat-file system?
29. What are the three general problems associated with data redundancy?
30. Define the key elements of the REA model.
31. What is an ERP system?
32. What three roles are played by accountants with respect to the information system?
33. Define the term attest function.
34. Define the term assurance.
35. What is IT auditing?
36. Distinguish between conceptual and physical systems.